WIAA Volleyball: Special journey ends for Lincoln trio

Manitowoc Lincoln's Emily Kretsch, left, and April Brunner collide as they both vie for the ball against Burlington during their Division 1 quarterfinals match in the WIAA state championship volleyball tournament on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014 at the Resch Center in Green Bay. Matthew Apgar/HTR Media(Photo: Matthew Apgar/HTR Media)Buy Photo

GREEN BAY – Make no mistake, Thursday night's loss to Burlington was a tough one to swallow for everyone involved with the Manitowoc Lincoln volleyball program.

But there were three young ladies who had a unique view of the situation.

For the past three seasons, seniors Meg Wolowicz, Emily Kretsch and Alyssa Fischer have been part of the varsity volleyball team. Now they have to say goodbye.

Along with junior Mallory Dixon, the trio is the only members of the squad who have been on varsity each of the last three years.

The group has won two Fox River Classic Conference titles and three regional championships. Even though it didn't end the way they wanted it to, they also have a state tournament appearance to their credit. Just the third in program history.

"Our ultimate goal was the gold ball which, unfortunately, we didn't get. But we wanted to get here and we did," Wolowicz said. "We're not very happy right now, but we will be when we look back and realize we accomplished our ultimate goals."

The loss will sting for a while. There's no doubt about that. But Kretsch and her fellow seniors enjoyed their Grand Finale.

"This whole atmosphere was insane," Kretsch said. "Of course this isn't the way we wanted to end our season, we really wanted to make it further. But I wouldn't have wanted to spend it with any other team or any other people.

"We have an amazing student section, an amazing family base an amazing friend base. Our team is a family and I couldn't ask for anything else."

Fischer echoed Kretsch's sentiments.

"We were sisters," Fischer said. "We fought for each other. We fought more for each other than ourselves."

The transition from teammates to sisters is one that took place over time. It ultimately served as added motivation for the trio to fight for a state berth with the rest of their teammates.

"Every year we got closer and closer to each other. Not only as teammates, but as friends," Fischer said. "We did this for each other. We wanted to be here. We wanted to play as long as possible. It was the best season I've ever had because of the girls I played with."

Fellow seniors Lauren Davidson, April Brunner, Jaydin Grenier and Sabrina Luedtke also saw their high school playing days draw to a close. It is very clear that the bond shared between the trio of three-year starters also extended to the rest of the team.

"I'm so lucky to have even been a part of this experience," Kretsch said. "These are people that I'll love forever. They're my family and I love them."